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From His Heart - Week of Jan. 12

The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. - Zephaniah 3:17

How does God feel most of the time? Is He happy… sad… concerned… detached… upset… angry… disappointed… frustrated? Your honest answer to that question speaks volumes about how you interact with God.

Lots of people see God as a sad God: He is sad over their sins and disobedience. He is grieved over the state of the world. Others see God as a mad God: He has a hair-trigger temper and often goes ballistic. He will zap you if you get out of line… and enjoy seeing you punished.

THE BIBLICAL VIEW

What is the biblical view of God? The Bible teaches that although God gets sad (Gen. 6:6) and gets mad (Ex. 4:14), God is not mad or sad by nature. God is a glad God. To be in His presence is to be in the fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11)… because His heart overflows with joy and gladness.

And when God thinks of you… He begins to shout and sing with joy. You are His special treasure (Ex. 19:5). You are His trophy of grace (1 Tim. 1:16). He is SO excited about you!!

THIS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

I am convinced that many Christians miss out on the good, glad heart of God. They have such a negative view of God in their minds that it is impossible for them to really enjoy a relationship with Jesus.

I wonder how many of us are going to stand before Jesus at the end of our lives and be totally blown away that He is so different from what we believed Him to be. I wonder if your dialogue that first encounter with Jesus might be something like this:

“Lord, I never knew that you loved me so much. I never knew that you were so excited about me. Jesus, I would have lived a different life, one filled with love and laughter and no worries, had I only known how you felt about me.”

And He will respond, “My child… did you not read about Me in the Bible? Did you not know that I am the Father of the prodigal son? Did you not read that I rejoice over you with shouts of joy? Did you not hear that I love you with an everlasting love?”

“Yes, Lord.” I heard those words while I was on earth… but I guess I never really believed them.”

God wants you to believe Him in this life!! He wants you to rest in His love and grace. He wants you to rejoice that you are His and He is yours, and His banner over you is love.

God is a glad God who has a heart for you!! He wants to help you in your struggles. He wants to change you so that you can be like Him and your life can overflow with the good fruit of the Spirit.

Make it a point today to work on removing any erroneous, dysfunctional views that you have of God’s character. Replace those lies with the truth (see Luke 7:36-50, Ex. 34:6-7, John 8:1-11). Remember… when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free (John 8:32).

Jeff Schreve is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. He and his wife Debbie have been married for almost 20 years and are blessed with three wonderful girls.

Jeff began From His Heart Ministries, a radio and television ministry, in January of 2005. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no salary from this ministry.
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